Clamping device



CLAMPING DEVICE Filed Dec. 28, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 c. P, STUARTCLAMPING DEVICE A riL 23, 1935.

Filed Bag. 28, 1932 9 z Sheets Shet 2 w Hm Patented Apr. 23, 1935,UNITED I STATES PATENT OFFICE.

5 Claims.

. nary pipe, a plank-edge, or any other handy elongated member toconstitute therewith an adjustable-jaw beam-clamp, such as. is employedin carpentry and cabinet-work to draw together and hold framing andothermembers for mortising, tongue and. groove work, glueing or likeoperations. My invention, insofar as -it relates to the novel securementof the clamp-unit to the carrier member, contemplates an improvedcombination therebetween; and, insofar as it relates to the improvedclamp-unit, per se, contemplates animproved structure not limited inutility tothe formation. of a beam clamp with anelongated, member, butof general utilityfor numerouspurposes, as shown by examples set forthhereinafter. More particular objects and advantages of my invention are.set forth or will be apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing detailed description of preferred embodiments; thereof.

In the accompanying. drawings showing such.

Fig. 3. is a plan view of a unit in inverted position;

Figs. 4 and 5 are vertical sectional views of a unit provided with aclamp screw, taken respectively on the. line 4-4 of Fig. 5, andrthe line5-5 of Fig- 4, looking in. the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a unit-mounti ngIgripper-jaw removedfrom the unit; W

Fig. '7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the clamping head of theclamp-screw shown in Fig. '1;

Figs. 8, and 9 are perspective and plan views, respectively of amodified form of unit-body; and

Fig. 10 is, a longitudinal sectional view thereof, taken on theline lil-Ii! of Fig. 9, looking in the direction of the arrows.

. By reference tQ'the forms, of my invention selectedto illustrate thesame and shown in the drawings. (see Figs. 1 to 5 and 8 to 10) it willbe seen that my invention is primarily concerned' with the provision ofa basic clamp-unit comprising a, clamp-body provided with improved meansfor securing it to any desired rod, pipe, board-edge, cable,v wire orlike member; and that in Fig. 1 I have shown two such units mounted upona rigid member, shown in broken lines, to constitute therewith animproved cabinetclamp or the like, suitable clamp-tightening means, suchas the clamp-screw shown, being provided for one; or both units in thisconnection.

Referring to Figs. 1 through 5, the form shown therein comprises aclamp-body proper which consists of the clamping-face H. and the back-.ing member 12,, and suitable self-tightening se-' curing meansadaptedto. straddle and laterally grip any sort of member upon which theunit maybe mountedirrespective of the depth of said member or itsv Widthwithin the range of the securing means, and this latter means, as. isclearly shown, preferably comprises a pair of laterally. positioned.grippin jaws l3 arranged to take tight hold against thev sides ofthemember upon whichv the unit is to be mounted and to more and, moretightly grip. the member as more and more force is, exerted by oragainst the unit in the'applioation thereof to the work in hand.

I In the form shown the. gripping-jaws l3, are mounted in theclamp bodyto slide therein in agenerally longitudinal direction, provision beingmade for the forcing of one, and in the form shown each one, of thegripping, jaws toward the other by movement of the body of the unitrelative to the gripping jaws under the influence of clamping forceapplied to. or by the clamping face It as by forming the grippergenerally wedge-shaped and correspondingly inclining or flaring theportion of the unit-body which guides the. same. In the form of Figs. 1through 5 this gripper mounting and guiding portion of the unit bodycomprises a saddle portion, shown as cast integral with the clamp-bodyproper, which consist of a saddle-bridge l4 adapted to seat against thememberto which the unit is to be secured, and saddle-skirts l5 dependingtherefrom and flared longitudinally of the unit and away from theclamping-face thereof to constitute guideways for the wedge-shapedgripper-jaws l3, which may be slidably held in place therein by anysuitable device. v

Apreferred form of such retaining device, and one which is simple andmay be employed without reducing the minimum strengthof the unitbody, isprovided by employing a bent arm l6, which may be formed of rigid orresilient metal and secured to the gripper-jaw in any desired way,extending from each gripper-jaw and outwardly and upwardly about thelower portion of the cooperating saddle-skirt 15, the entiregripper-retainer assembly l3, l6, being held in place by any suitablemeans such as a flange H extending inwardly from the lower portion ofthe skirt l5 into interlocking engagement with said assembly to preventdropping thereof from within the saddle portion or upturning of thesaddleportion therefrom in use of the device. In the form shown, forsimplicity these arms l6 are both formed alike to be interchangeable.

In addition suitable means may be provided to prevent sliding of thegripping-jaws l3 out of the butt-end of the saddle-portion, which in theform shown is accomplished by securing stop members l8 over the rearedges of the skirt portions l5 and so positioning the retainers l6 thatthese retainers will engage against the stopmembers 18 when thegripping-jaws l3 are in full open position.

In the form shown the parts are so proportioned that the gripping-jawswill not slide entirely out through the front end of the saddleportion,but obviously with differently proportioned parts any suitable stopmeans such as pins or the like may be employed to limit forward movementof the gripping-jaws if this is desired.

An important feature of my invention, which renders it practical toemploy the straddle mounting of clamp-units provided by my inventioneven where heavy clamping stresses are to be applied, consists in soshaping the engaging portions of the gripper-jaws 13 as to guard againstupturning of the unit on the member to which it may be attached, and asbest shown in Figs. 2 and 6 I preferably embody this feature, inconstructing a clamp-unit universally applicable for mounting onmetallic or wooden members, by providing the engaging faces of one orboth of the gripper-members I 3 with several widely spaced grippingteeth 20 arranged to incline upwardly and forwardly, as best shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 5. This upward and forward inclination of the teeth 20,it will be observed, will urge the member to which the unit may besecured toward the saddle-bridge M of the clamp-jaw unit in thetightening thereof, and thus insure a proper initial grip thereon, andin addition the position and wide spaoiru of the teeth will insurebiting thereof into the carrier-member in such a way that the unitcannot tilt upwardly about its rear end 2! (Fig. 5) unless so muchtilting force be applied as to cause shearing-away or planingaway to aconsiderable depth of the lateral surfaces of the carrier member by theedges of the inclined teeth 20, which, because, of their relativelysmall number or wide spacing (for example the teeth may, in a unithaving a body two and one-half inches long, be spaced as much asthree-fourths inch apart, in the form shown) each carry a heavy grippingload and accordingly bite deepy into the carrier member.

The widely-spaced, inclined, continuous teeth or cutting edges 20 arebelieved to constitute the best way of embodying this feature of myinvention in a clamp adapted to be used with carrier-members of variousmaterials, and to insure suffieient biting-in of the grippers when hardmetal carrier members are employed, but it Will be apparent that forparticular types of Work where only light clamping pressures are to beemployed, or where carrier-members of wood or other soft material onlywill be used, other specific modes of preventing upturning of astraddling unit may be employed within the purview of my invention.

As above mentioned, it is desirable to provide, at least in the case ofcertain of the units provided by my invention, for example such units asare employed in tightening mortises or the like, suitable clamptightening means of any desired or preferred form, and in the form shownsuch means is indicated as a clamp-screw 30, threaded through theorifice 3! in the clampbody proper, and provided with a rear-end 32shaped to facilitate turning-up thereof, and as best shown in Figs. 1and 8, this clamp-screw advantageously may be provided with a rotatableclamping foot 33 provided with a socket 34 adapted to extend over theforward-end of the clamp-screw 38 and to be rotatably secured thereto byany suitable means such as a pin 35 extending through the socket 34 anda groove 36 out into the clamp-screw 30, for example. To facilitaterotation of the clamping foot 33 even while subject to great clampingstress, it is desirable to provide suitable bearing means for the same,shown in Fig. 7 as comprised of one or more bronze bearing discs 38positioned between the end of the clamp-screw 30 and the bottom of thesocket 34.

It is of course obvious that my invention can be embodied in manyspecific forms, and to illustrate one modification thereof which isparticularly desirable because of strength and cheapness of manufactureI have shown in Figs. 8 through 10 a form in which the body proper Ila,12a, is made separate from the saddle-portion Ma, [5a, Ila, and securedthereto by any suitable means such as a heavy anchoring screw 40 and asmaller rotation preventing screw 4|, best shown in Fig. 10. Thisconstruction is particularly desirable, as it enables the saddle-portionto be pressed up or otherwise formed with little or no machining; and,if removable uniting means such as the machine screws 40, 4|, beemployed, various bodies-proper may be sub stituted for the body Ha,l2a, for special purposes. As in the case of the embodiment of myinvention shown in Figs. 1 through 5, the body proper Ila, l2a, may beprovided with a threaded orifice 3la to provide for the associationtherewith of a clamp-screw such as the clamp-screw 30, Figs. 1 and 7. 7

To preserve the adjustment, and to make it unnecessary to readjust theclamp after it has once been adjusted for a particular piece of work,and the user wishes to maintain the adjustment for other work of thesame kind, I have provided the clamp, in each of its forms, with aset-screw 42 threaded into the side of the saddle skirt to engage theadjacent gripping jaw. This prevents the clamp from slipping off thebar, and saves the time which would otherwise be consumed in readjustingthe clamp.

In the foregoing description, I have set forth in detail preferred formsin which clamp-units of my invention may be embodied, and have mentionedthe general utility of these units as well as their peculiar utility inthe formation of a cabinet-clamp or the like, and. it will be clear tothose skilled in the art that my units need not necessarily be employedin pairs, but that one adjustably mounted unit may be employed inconjunction with another ordinary fixed clamp-jaw unit in theconstruction of a cabinetclamp or the like. It will also be obvious tothose skilled in the art that my units may be employed to advantage incable or wire tightening operations, as in tightening cables around.

silos, for example, by positioning two units (of which at least oneshould be provided with a clamp-screw for convenience) in face to faceposition, each mounted upon the end of the strapping-cable extendingpast the other, and tightening the cable by forcing the units apart bymeans of the clamp-screw, for example, when the overlapping ends of thecable between the two units may be readily secured by any suitablecable-tie.

My invention obviously is not restricted to the particular embodimentsthereof herein illustrated and described, and having disclosed suchembodiments to illustrate the practice of the same, what I claim anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A cabinet-clamp or the like, comprising, in combination, an elongatedmember serving as a clamp-beam, a pair of clamp-jaw units securedthereto to clamp work therebetween in a position,

offset from said member, at least one of said units embodying clamptightening means such as a clamp-screw or the like and at least one ofsaid units comprising a saddle portion straddling said member and havinga pair of lateral gripping jaws mounted therein and laterally grippingsaid member to effect its securement thereto, said gripping jaws beingself-tightening under clamping stress by movement of said saddle portionrelatively to such jaws and from the other unit and embodying grippingteeth arranged at an incline thereon to prevent upturning of said uniton said member when said clamp tightening means is manipulated to applystress to the work in said position offset from said member.

2. A cabinet-clamp or the like, comprising, in combination, an elongatedmember serving as a clamp-beam, and a clamp-jaw unit secured thereto andprovided with clamp tightening means such as a clamp-screw or the likepositioned to clamp work laterally of said member, said unit comprisinga saddle portion straddling said member and having a pair of lateralgripping jaws mounted therein and laterally gripping said member toeffect its securement thereto, said gripping jaws being self-tighteningunder stress resulting from the clamping of work by said cabinet-clampby movement of said saddle portion relatively to said jaws and from thework and embodying gripping teeth arranged at an incline thereon toprevent upturning of said unit on said member by the stress resultingfrom clamping of work by said cabinet-clamp.

3. A cabinet-clamp or the like, comprising, in

combination, an elongated member serving as a clamp-beam and a clamp-jawunit comprising a saddle portion straddling said member and securedthereto by a pair of lateral gripping jaws within said saddle portionlaterally gripping saidelongated member, said gripping jaws beingselftightening under stress resulting from the clamping of work by saidcabinet-clamp by movement of said saddle portion relatively to said jawsand from the work and embodying gripping teeth arranged at an inclinethereon to prevent upturning of said unit on said member under suchstress.

4. A clamp-body comprising a body provided with a saddle portion adaptedto straddle an elongated member to which the unit is to be secured, saidbody being provided with a clamping face and a threaded openingperpendicular to said face to receive a clamping screw, and a pair oflaterally positioned, wedging jaws slidable lengthwise in said body andadapted to Wedge against the elongated member under the influence ofclamping stress applied through said unit by movement of said saddleportion relatively to said jaws and from the work to be clamped by saidclamping face, said jaws being provided with upwardly and forwardlyinclined relatively widely spaced continuous teeth adapted to bite intothe member to which the unit is to be secured, and by their inclinationto resist upturning of said unit under clamping stress to the point ofshearing or planing 01f the gripped surfaces of said member.

5. In a clamp unit, the combination of a body and a pair of jawsconnected by said body and together presenting a channel having twoopposed, clamping faces, an open side into which a member to. be clampedmay be introduced by movement in a direction transverse to said channel,said channel having a face opposite said open side, said body beingmovable longitudinally of said channel with relation to said pair ofjaws, said jaws and said body being cooperatively formed to cause bothof said jaws to be urged inwardly to narrow said channel and to gripsaid member when said body is moved longitudinally in one direction, andto relax their grip when said body is moved in the opposite direction,and an actuating screw supported by and having screwthreaded connectionwith said body and extending lengthwise of said channel, and having atone end an abutment to engage an object against which a thrust is to bedeveloped, to enable said thrust to react upon said body and to movesaid body rearwardly from said object, thereby to cause said jaws tomove relatively to said body and to approach each other and to tightentheir grip on said member.

CARL PHILIP STUART.

